"Doctor Who"
The Shakespeare Code (2007)

Director:

Charles Palmer

Writer:

Gareth Roberts (written by)

TV Series:

"Doctor Who" (2005)

Original Air Date:

7 April 2007 (Season 3, Episode 2)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

The Doctor takes Martha to 1599, to meet none other than William Shakespeare in the Globe Theatre...but can he stop the curse of the three witches?

Plot Keywords:

Coven | Queen Elizabeth I | Spell | 1500s | Shakespeare

Cast

David Tennant	...	The Doctor
Freema Agyeman	...	Martha Jones
Dean Lennox Kelly	...	Shakespeare
Christina Cole	...	Lilith
Sam Marks	...	Wiggins
Amanda Lawrence	...	Doomfinger
Linda Clark	...	Bloodtide
Jalaal Hartley	...	Dick
David Westhead	...	Kempe
Andrée Bernard	...	Dolly Bailey
Chris Larkin	...	Lynley
Stephen Marcus	...	Jailer
Matt King	...	Peter Streete
Robert Demeger	...	Preacher
Angela Pleasence	...	Queen Elizabeth

Runtime:

45 min | 45 min (50 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

UK:PG (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Globe Theatre, Bankside, Southwark, London, England, UK

Trivia:

This is the first episode in which the Doctor and his companion are shown sharing a bed (though platonically on the Doctor's part). It is also the first episode in which a companion is actually shown making sexual advances (albeit subtle) towards the Doctor. (Martha's advances are defused when the Doctor starts talking about Rose.)

Quotes:

The Doctor: Just think. When you get back, you could tell everyone that you've seen Shakespeare.
Martha Jones: Yeah! And then I could get sectioned!

Movie Connections:

References Superman (1978)

Better, but still...

This is the second (technically third) episode of Doctor Who Series 3, and by now the series should really be getting into the swing of things, but this episode still lacked certain elements that made the last series so successful. Normally, the 'back in time' episodes with a famous person in (Series 1's 'The Unquiet Dead' with Charles Dickens and Series 2's 'Tooth and Claw' with Queen Victoria' rank among the best episodes of the series, but this is a disappointment compared to them. It was action-packed, thats for sure and it featured a fairly clever recreation of Elizabethan England. However, on the whole, the episode was rather silly and just, not anything really. It was a slight improvement over the terribly rushed 'Smith and Jones', but the series still has a long way to go if it wants to top the amazing series 2.